Josh Harris’s Commanders deal is ‘not there yet,’ but NFL owners are hopeful

Josh Harris group in ‘constructive’ discussions with NFL on Commanders sale

Irsay’s comments came as the NFL began a two-day quarterly meeting in the Minneapolis area, with the owners scheduled to be updated on Harris’s deal. Snyder and his wife, Tanya, the Commanders’ co-CEO, did not attend.

“We’ll see what happens,” Irsay said. “I think it’s going to kind of depend on the Harris group. … I think they kind of know what the rules are. And I know they really want to get a deal done, and we do. So you hope that carries the day. … But there’s more work to be done at this point.”

The Harris group declined to comment through a spokesman.

The owners on the NFL finance committee met Monday ahead of the beginning of the full ownership meeting, held at a hotel alongside the Minnesota Vikings’ training facility. Commissioner Roger Goodell joined members of the eight-owner finance committee in their meeting.

Commanders President Jason Wright and Karl Schreiber, a longtime business adviser to Daniel Snyder, arrived at the hotel Monday to represent the team. Norm Chirite, an attorney for Snyder, also is expected to attend.

The team confirmed that Tanya Snyder is not expected to attend the meeting. She had represented the Commanders at league meetings since the NFL’s July 2021 announcement that it had fined the team $10 million following an investigation conducted by attorney Beth Wilkinson. It is believed Tanya Snyder did not attend a recent set of committee meetings for owners at the NFL’s offices in New York.

Wright declined further comment.

The finance committee has raised issues related to the structure of Harris’s deal, according to several people familiar with the committee’s deliberations. The committee believes the deal, in its current structure, is well above the NFL’s $1.1 billion debt limit for team acquisitions, according to one of those people. But Kansas City Chiefs owner Clark Hunt, the chairman of the committee, has vowed to continue to work with Harris’s deal, according to that person.

“I would anticipate it being done,” Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said Monday.

Jones declined to speculate on a timetable for the owners ratifying the deal, adding, “I don’t want to simplify a lot of work, but these are outstandingly qualified owners.”

The deal must be structured properly, Jones noted. “That structure is important,” he said. “It’s an important value of the franchise.”

Representatives of the Harris group are in discussions with the NFL about the approval process, according to two people familiar with those conversations. One of those people described the talks as constructive.

“We’re not going to have anything at this meeting,” Irsay said. “We’re a little ways away, but we’re working hard. Everyone wants to get it done, and it’s just seeing that it complies with league policy. It’s a complicated deal. So we’re trying to just work through it, and we’re hopeful that we can get it done. It’s going to take probably several more weeks of discussions before we see if we can reach the goal line there. But everyone’s — they’re hopeful, and we want to keep working in that direction.”

Irsay, in stressing the need for Harris’s deal to comply with NFL ownership rules, cited David Tepper’s purchase of the Carolina Panthers in 2018 and Rob Walton’s purchase of the Denver Broncos last year.

From 2018: David Tepper is nothing like an NFL owner

“It’s tough because it has to comply like the Waltons complied and Tepper complied,” Irsay said. “And everyone knew the rules up front before you submitted the bid.”

Irsay added: “And I think the Harris group knows: ‘Look, you guys, you know we have to stay within the guidelines that we gave you. They were clear from the beginning. So let’s put the dot over the I and put the cross over the T, make sure we get that done right.’ So I’m hopeful that can get done. I think they’re very enthusiastic about becoming the owners. I think they’re really fired up to have a chance to take over the team … before the season starts. But we’re just — we’re not there yet. But I’m hopeful we get there.”

Irsay was asked whether he’s comfortable with the amount of debt in the deal. He answered, “Yes, I am, as long as it complies with league rules.”

The NFL confirmed Thursday that the owners will not vote during this meeting on approval of the Commanders sale. At least 24 of the 32 owners must approve the deal; they generally follow whatever recommendation the finance committee makes.

The owners’ next scheduled meeting is in October. The NFL could schedule a special meeting before then for the owners to vote on Harris’s deal. It’s not known how long the Harris group maintains exclusivity over the team’s purchase as part of its signed agreement with Snyder completed May 12.

“I think that would be great to have a new ownership group in there before the season opens,” Irsay said. “That would be a goal. So it’s not an impossibility. We would have [to hold] a special meeting, like after the Fourth of July, for something like that to happen. But I know the commissioner will continue to look at [that] and see what our schedule is going to be. But there’s work to be done.”

TNF flex and other moves

The owners voted Monday to ratify a flexible scheduling plan for the “Thursday Night Football” package carried by Amazon’s Prime Video. (Amazon’s founder, Jeff Bezos, owns The Washington Post.) It can be used during Weeks 13 to 17 and must come with 28 days’ notice. The plan allows the league, as with other packages, to replace an unattractive game with a better matchup for prime time.

The measure had failed to secure sufficient votes for ratification in March. New York Giants co-owner John Mara said then that the plan was not fan-friendly.

“I still feel the same way,” Mara said Monday. . . .

The owners remain close to completing a contract extension with Goodell, a person familiar with the deliberations said. The deal has been pending since March and could run until the spring of 2027. The owners previously authorized their compensation committee to finalize the extension. . . .

The owners ratified a proposal to allow each team to designate an emergency third quarterback on game day; that quarterback must be on the 53-man roster (not the practice squad) to be eligible. That move comes after the San Francisco 49ers were left with no healthy quarterbacks available during their lopsided loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC championship game. . . .

The NFL awarded Super Bowl LX to the San Francisco Bay Area. The game will be played in 2026 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. The league awarded the 2025 draft to Green Bay.